4 ms·
Well done for going off-grid. But what do you do if you've got a whole week of rain? A lot of people here in South Africa are keen on off grid but it's unreaso
by sgt 3y ago
Well done for going off-grid. But what do you do if you've got a whole week of rain?
A lot of people here in South Africa are keen on off grid but it's unreasonably expensive since you'll have to cater for those rainy days, and that means you'll need to build a very large system.
BTW kWh/day consumption here in the winter (which is probably typical) is around 25kWh per day.
- Andys 3y agoWe have a diesel generator but its only needed a few days a year; even with regular testing it only goes through about one jerry can a year, far less than we use for transport (would love an EV!)
- adrianmonk 3y ago> unreasonably expensive since you'll have to cater for those rainy days I wonder if it would make sense to get a generator[1] to supplement solar on rare occasion. If you want to build solar, but the cost of achieving reliability is the one thing stopping you, then maybe a generator could remove that obstacle. Yes, it emits carbon, and the fuel costs money. But if you only use it a few days each year, that might not be very significant. However, it makes the system design more complicated, and generators require maintenance. --- [1] I'd use propane since it can be stored 10+ years, whereas gasoline and diesel last 6-12 months. Also propane can be used for emergency heat.
- sgt 3y agoFair point. Having a test schedule every 3 months is probably a good idea to ensure that it'll start up.